The invention relates to a fastening device for a decorative or cover strip for gaps in motor vehicle bodies. The fastening device has a holding body which can be inserted and wedged into the gap and holds the decorative or covering strip.
A fastening device of the above mentioned type is described in German Patent document DE 31 10 989 including a holding body which can be wedged and is inserted into a gap between the main sheet metal panel of the top and the lateral top spar of the vehicle. This holding body consists of two wedge-shaped elements which are displaceable against one another along a common, transversely extending separating face. In the process of being displaced against one another, the elements become wedged against the lateral walls of the gap. A holder for a decorative or cover strip is provided in one of these two elements.
It is a disadvantage of the known fastening device that in the event of fluctuations of the gap width due to manufacturing tolerances, the holder for the decorative or cover strip has a constant distance only towards one side of the gap, namely the side of the gap against which the element receiving the holder rests. A centered alignment of the decorative or cover strip along the longitudinal extent of the gap is therefore not possible.
There is therefore needed a fastening device designed in such a way that the decorative or cover strip can always be fastened so as to be exactly centered, regardless of tolerance-related fluctuations of the gap width.
There is furthermore needed a fastening device which can be produced in a cost-effective manner, which can be quickly and simply mounted, and which provides a secure holding of the cover strip.
These needs are met according to the present invention by a fastening device for a decorative or cover strip for gaps in motor vehicle bodies. The fastening device has a holding body which can be inserted and wedged into the gap and which holds the decorative or covering strip. The holding body is made of several parts including lateral bracing elements, which can be braced against lateral walls of the gap via a spreading element. The spreading element is provided between the bracing elements and is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the gap. The decorative or cover strip is fixed on the spreading element.
Advantages of the present invention include providing a holding body which can be produced cost-effectively and can be inserted rapidly and securely into a gap of a vehicle body so as to assure an accurately centered fastening of a decorative or cover strip.
The top gap is a typical gap found in most vehicle bodies. An approximately rectangular gap, which extends over the entire length of the vehicle top, is formed between the main sheet metal panel of the top and the lateral top spar. So-called holding bodies are inserted into the gap at defined distances. The holding bodies have a longitudinal groove for a strip which caps or covers the gap. These holding bodies can be fastened in the top gap via lateral bracing.
Because of manufacturing tolerances, the gap width is not uniform over its entire length. If the longitudinal groove for the decorative or cover strip is fastened to a part of the holding body resting against the gap wall, then the longitudinal groove is moved away from the other gap wall in accordance with the fluctuation in the gap width. To assure that the longitudinal groove for the decorative or cover strip in the holding body is always exactly in the center of the gap, regardless of the gap width, the holding body is constructed of several parts, namely a part located in the center with a receptacle for the decorative or cover strip, and further parts disposed symmetrically next to the center part. These further parts brace the holding body against the gap wall. The bracing function can be performed by pushing wedge-shaped partial elements together. The wedge angle of the wedge-shaped partial elements can be selected to be such that self-locking of the parts takes place and, therefore they no longer come apart. However, the provision of serrations on the separating faces of the holding body is also possible.
An embodiment of the holding body formed in three parts has proven to be advantageous, wherein a spreading element is disposed so as to be displaceable between two symmetrical lateral bracing parts. By means of this arrangement, it is assured that the decorative or cover strip fastened on the spreading element always comes to rest centered in the top channel.
In a further preferred embodiment, the bracing parts can have a limit stop on their wider front. The limit stop extends respectively crosswise to the longitudinal extension of the gap. The limit stop is in operative connection with a step-shaped impression of the oppositely located bracing part. The position of the bracing parts in relation to each other is therefore clearly defined.
In further preferred embodiments, the lateral bracing parts can be connected with the center spreading element through the use of sliding guides extending in the longitudinal direction, so that they cannot be separated, although the individual parts can be displaced against each other. The three-piece holding body can therefore be preassembled to form a structural unit. This structural unit is then inserted into the top gap and braced in the top gap by pushing it together in the longitudinal direction.
In addition, a base on the centered spreading element extending in the direction toward the gap bottom assures that channels for the run-off of rainwater remain free in the top gap between the holding body and the gap bottom. This base further assures that all holding bodies inserted into a top gap have the same distance from the gap bottom.
In a further preferred embodiment, an undercut of the lateral gap walls extending toward the bottom of the top gap increases the secure anchoring of the holding body in the top gap.
Advantageously, the receptacle for the decorative or cover strip on the spreading element can be applied centered or off-centered, depending on the design of the decorative or cover strip. Fastening can be performed directly or with the interposition of an additional receiving element, such as a metal holding clip. The receptacle is constituted, for example, by a recessed longitudinal groove or upwardly projecting formed-on snap hooks.
Still further, the decorative or cover strip can be maintained in its position by the interposition of an adapter at the spreading element. The adapter is inserted into the decorative or cover strip and constitutes a pre-assembled unit together with it, which is clipped to the holding body.